Interior wallboard, exterior building sheathing, flooring, roofing, and other building panels can be exposed to extreme environmental conditions including moisture, wind, and extreme temperatures during and after construction. Additionally, such systems may be installed improperly, such that seams between panels are not completely sealed. Furthermore, sheathing and roofing panels installed around windows, scuppers, parapet walls, and other openings and areas in the building may be particularly vulnerable to environmental damage.
When moisture intrusion and/or degradation or destruction of the panels occurs due to these conditions, it often goes unnoticed for a length of time, usually until visually observed. Moreover, leaks and/or degradation that may not be visible via typical inspection methods may never be detected. Thus, such damage conditions, as well as mold and mildew resulting from water infiltration, may intensify to easily avoidable levels because of the lack of early detection systems for these issues.
For example, in environments exposed to freezing temperatures, water leaking into a roofing or sheathing panel may undergo multiple freeze-thaw cycles and thereby cause separation of the panel core and the fiberglass mat facer and associated membrane (e.g., building wrap), if present. Once separation of the mat facer has occurred, wind uplifting causes further separation of the mat facer, sometimes resulting in billowing of the mat facer.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide construction panels and other construction materials having sensors for detecting environmental conditions in or on the panel/structure, to monitor and prevent damage to such materials.
In one aspect, building panels are provided, including a panel including a panel core and having a first surface and an opposed second surface, and at least one environmental sensor assembly associated with the panel core and configured to detect an environmental condition of the panel including moisture, pressure, or both, and wirelessly communicate data on the environmental condition to a reader, wherein the at least one environmental sensor assembly is self-supporting, passive, and includes an antenna, a processing module, and a wireless communication module.
In another aspect, systems for detecting an environmental condition at a panel are also provided, including at least one of the building panels and at least one reader for receiving the data wirelessly communicated from the at least one environmental sensor assembly.
In yet another aspect, methods of detecting an environmental condition are provided, including providing at least one of the building panels and wirelessly communicating data on the environmental condition from the at least one environmental sensor assembly to a reader.
In still yet another aspect, methods for manufacturing a building panel are provided, including combining a panel core slurry and a panel facing material to form a panel core having a first surface and an opposed second surface, the first surface being associated with the panel facing material, and disposing at least one environmental sensor assembly within the panel core slurry or between the panel core slurry and the panel facing material, wherein the at least one environmental sensor is configured to detect an environmental condition of the panel including moisture, pressure, or both, and wirelessly communicate data on the environmental condition to a reader, wherein the at least one environmental sensor assembly is self-supporting, passive, and includes an antenna, a processing module, and a wireless communication module.